The call for an emergency assembly was sealed by the knock of a gavel for a Student Government Senate meeting that was described by an SG member as a “bloody mess of statute disorganization” on Feb. 8.
Senators met two days later to correct a misstep when it came to appropriating club grant proposals. In the end, the senate voted unanimously to give $760 to the Entrepreneurship Club.
At the Feb. 8 meeting, it wasn’t that simple. What seemed to be a run-of-the-mill grant request by Entrepreneurship Club was squelched when senators realized it wasn’t posted on the agenda, written in bill form or made public before the vote.
“That was horrible,” said Sen. Maria Bhim, who coordinated the grant request for the club. Bhim is also the club’s vice president. The request was time-sensitive—the club was relying on a speedy grant to help cut the cost of attending a conference in Miami at the end of the month.
“It was a seemingly informal process,” Bhim said. After following advised protocol, she learned the request was processed incorrectly—it was never posted online.
Sen. Michael Jernigan caught that the bill wasn’t on the agenda or made public. Sitting back in his seat, he resigned to going ahead and voting, acknowledging the grant was time-sensitive.
The procedure to vote was curbed by Sen. William Nicks, who said it was against Florida Sunshine Laws to vote for a bill that wasn’t posted.
“Am I the only one who sees what’s going on?” Nicks said.
Questioning Nicks’ knowledge of legal affairs, senators sought advice from the new Attorney General, Charlie Shelmet. They looked to find his seat empty.
Shelmet wasn’t present at the meeting because he was busy with duties tied to being an RA. He was helping a student get a proxy card to get in and out of the residence hall at the time, he later said.
Members of the executive branch aren’t required to attend senate meetings, he said. Their presence was a courtesy.
Pat Gleason, who serves as Special Counsel for Open Government for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, didn’t recall any Florida Sunshine Laws that mandates bills are posted in advance. Gleason noted that groups sometimes have different transparency laws, which could be the case with student government.
Sen. James Scott, frustrated with the Shelmet’s absence, said it should be “forever unacceptable” for the attorney general to be absent at Senate meetings because of the standstill.
Last semester, the Entrepreneurship Club was granted half of what they had requested for their annual budget. If something were to come up and the club needed more money, Bhim recalled being told to simply write a grant request.
“And now look what happens,” she said.
A 10-minute recess was called, allowing time for a solution. Quick to get moving, senators discussed in small groups, determined to fix the snag.
The break made way for a resolution and a call for an emergency meeting held Friday after the bill was officially posted for senators to read. The Friday vote was swift, with Senate opting for $360 less than the requested amount.
The club requested $1,120. Bhim said this was a modest estimate, which covered conference tickets, a meal a day and gas. Club members would cover the hotel stay.
“That’s in Miami, on tech week,” Bhim said, stressing the amount of money club members were willing to pay out of pocket.
Senate granted the club less than requested because clubs have $6,652 left for allocation. A note scrawled at the bottom of the request form read, “Giving one club one-sixth of the remaining money is not practical.”
With one foot in the Entrepreneurship Club and the other in Student Government Senate, Bhim found herself understanding both sides. She understood how something seemingly standard could be overlooked. “It’s just unfortunate that our club had to be made an example of,” she said.
Photos by Christopher Guinn
